#i can't. get. this. set. to. work. so. i'm. giving. up.

[miss-m-winks]

Yeah honestly, I just appreciate fantasy that puts thought into its world. I don't think every fantasy needs to go into detail about like, why there are potatoes there. A lot of the time, "potato" is also just an easy shorthand to tell the audience "starchy root vegetables exist here", like in LotR where a lot of the details you might consider anachronisms are very easily overlooked with the "this is a translation" explanation. And LotR makes that explanation work because of all the other unique details present in the worldbuilding.

The problems with anachronisms usually come in when they don't feel like they've been integrated well with the rest of the world. I can believe Hobbits have potatoes because of how much farming they do. Of course they've managed to breed their own starchy root vegetable they can call a potato. It's easy to picture them having every fruit and vegetable known to man, because they love food and they do a lot of farming. That's all it takes to make the potato and the cornfields fit into their world.

But if I'm reading a book set in a standard UK-ish middle ages/vaguely old fashioned time period, and out of nowhere they're using oranges as a casual common breakfast fruit, or coffee just shows up to be a regular morning drink, or cheap chocolate candy just exists now, all with exactly the same connotations they have in our real modern world, i find that weird. It throws me out of immersion.

I don't need the author to write a whole paragraph explaining where those things came from, but I am going to need a little more set up and a reason to feel like those details actually fit the world. They need to fade into the background, easily overlooked. If they stand out, they end up feeling weird. If your worldbuilding can't stand on its own enough for me to glance past the morning coffee, there's a problem.

I think the root cause is authors who just toss in details from their own modern life experiences without really considering whether or not it fits. They're not immersing themselves into the world they're writing, and you can kinda feel it. So authors just need to get into their own worlds and think about what it's really like to live there, and I think that fixes most of the immersion problems.

All it takes is a little description of a fantastical orchard and I can believe the oranges. Mention the import market and I can believe the coffee. Maybe give it a new cultural context while you're at it.

For the longest time I opted on the side of "no coffee, potatoes, etc" in fantasy writing, on the argument that if I was writing a pseudo-european medieval story, featuring elements brought to Europe by colonialism would imply the existence of colonialism, and if I was going to include that kind of elements, I could not just mention them casually, it would have to be a major theme of the story.

Then I scrolled past a post on tumblr specifically about "can you have potatoes in a fantasy setting for no reason" that had pics of Peruvian potato farmers and asked "are you really too much of a coward to not write these people into your stories?" (the tone was probably not that accusative, I paraphrase from my own perspective of this), and something clicked in my head, and this epiphany manifested in my head as Gordon Ramsay yelling

"IT WAS NOT THE FUCKING COLONIALISM THAT INVENTED THE FUCKING POTATO."

[rueclfer]

Ur event got me thinking you absolutely don't need to use this as part of the job fair but garbage man tomura 🤤🤤

You need to see the vision him in his neon vest sweaty and tired coming home to his work from home office girly girlfriend I can't decide if the dynamic is "let me shower you demon" and feral y/n or "go shower you stink" and "no I want a goddamn kiss"

I'm on such a tomura shigaraki kick lately I'm loving the job fair and the new tomura content and as always you're fucking amazing ruru 🙏🙏🫐

highkey i was so excited for this LMAO i needed something silly sooooo baaddd hi blooby this is damn near a self insert bc i am Pro Shower First or get hosed down in the front lawn

garbage man!tomura // job fair

event m.list

as you hear the door swing open and hit the wall behind it, you suddenly have the thought that you should’ve locked yourself in another room until you heard the shower running.

“tomu?” you call out from the kitchen.

there’s a brief moment of silence. you try to hear for clothes dropping onto the floor- hopeful that he’d listen to you and just leave his work uniform to be dealt with later. he’d get his kiss and everyone would be happy.

then he steps around the corner. uniform on, vest and gloves slung over his shoulder, and hair pulled up into a messy ponytail.

“no,” you warn, moving around the kitchen island for the distance.

“are you fucking serious right now?” he whines, moving around the island in which you proceed to follow around, leaving you two on opposing sides.

he gives you a deadpan expression, unbelieving of this cat and mouse game you’ve set up for yourselves in your kitchen.

“i told you i was,” you groaned, “i don’t want to kiss you right now. go shower and then i will after.”

“I just got off an eight hour shift. physical labor. in the sun. i deserve a kiss.”

you nod your head, “yes i agree, and i’ll give you a really good one when you’re clean.”

tomura is tempted to throw a glove in your direction and see how quickly you’d scurry away, but he could already see your fingertips twitching for the sink’s hose if he made any sudden movements.

you two are stuck in a staring contest for a minute, waiting for the other to make the next move. 

“just a kiss.”

“no.”

“hold your fucking breath if you have to,” he exasperated.

“take off your clothes.”

a beat of silence passes between you two.

tomura presses his lips together in a tight line. normally with a request like that, he doesn’t have to be asked twice, but with the current circumstances and how much you’ve irritated him today before even getting home from work, you’re at a standstill.

“come take them off for me,” he taunts.

you narrow your eyes at him as he shrugs his vest and gloves to the ground. tomura holds his arms out for you, motioning for you to come closer with a shit-eating smirk on his face knowing that he knows exactly how to lure you in.

you pout.

your boyfriend is a hard worker. he has to deal with your antics. he’s tired. he just wants some love.

you slowly move your way around the kitchen island, and let yourself touch his outreached hands. you interlock your fingers with his at arm's length, hoping that this bit of physical touch is enough to satiate him.

“is this good enough?” you mutter.

“yeah.” he smirks, “this is good.”

tomura’s grip tightens. you feel him tense up, but his smile never leaves his face. he suddenly jerks you into him in one movement that almost makes you trip over yourself. in a second, you’re engulfed into his arms, tightly held chest to chest, and locked in an embrace that leaves you screaming.

“looks like you’re getting in the shower with me,” he mutters in between your wails.

[jaysguitarstring]

⋆｡°✩ compatibility test

in which you do a compatibility test with them.

⭑.ᐟ pairing ; enha x fem reader, established relationship

⭑.ᐟ genre ; fluff, crack

⭑.ᐟ warnings ; cursing

⭑.ᐟ join my permanent taglist here

⭑.ᐟ☆ demi's notes ; saw one of my friends do this for fun while we joked around about old crushes and i wanted to write smth about it!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

‧₊˚⭑.ᐟ LEE HEESEUNG

"come on, are you done yet?" heeseung asks impatiently, watching you cross out the letters you have in common in your names.

you stick your tongue out slightly in concentration, calculating the percentage carefully so you don't mess up. "i'm almost finished... there! 87%."

heeseung looks at the paper in disappointment, his lips slowly forming a small grimace. "just 87%...?"

you let out a sigh and set your pen down. "come on, it could have been way worse. at least it's 3% away from 90%".

"fine... it's just a stupid test anyway."

‧₊˚⭑.ᐟ PARK JONGSEONG

"what's wrong? why are you sulking like that?" jay asks, trying to sneak a glance at the results of the test.

a small pout formed on your lips, taking your hand away from the paper to show him. "we got just 84%."

"if it bothers you that much, then try using jongseong instead of jay." jay suggests, gently caressing your hair.

"wait, let me try that." you says as you start scribbling on the paper again.

88%. just 4% more than the previous one.

i mean, it's just a test anyway, right?

‧₊˚⭑.ᐟ SIM JAYEUN

"come on, come on, tell me already!" jake exclaims, excited to see your results.

"alright, alright, give me a second!" you try to calm him down, still writing down on the paper.

you finish, glancing at him, and then back at the paper.

"uhm... jake?"

"yeah? what is it, did you finish? show me!" he asks with his signature puppy smile.

"we got 58%."

jake's smile instantly drops. he was absolutely certain you two would get at least over 95%.

"what. no, there's no way. i refuse. this isn't valid." jake says in denial, frustrated with the test. "which one of my names did you use?"

"i used jake, you said to use that one." you reply, confused.

"try again. use jayeun instead. this thing," he claims, pointing at the piece of paper, "is not valid at all."

you just nod, trying to hold in your laugh as jake huffs in frustration, complaining quietly about the compatibility test as you try once again.

"we got 78% this time." you speak up, showing jake."

"i told you - this isn't valid! rip that shit!"

‧₊˚⭑.ᐟ PARK SUNGHOON

"so, how much did we get?" sunghoon asks curiously, despite not being interest in this test at first.

"give me a sec... we got 78%." you reply, showing him the results.

sunghoon looks at the test, skeptical, before opening his mouth again.

"what if we add our last names too for extra points?" he says with a dead serious face.

"sunghoon, that's not how it works!"

‧₊˚⭑.ᐟ KIM SUNOO

sunoo swinged his feet as he waited, playing with the decorations on the cafè table.

"why is it even taking you so long? it's not like i have a long name or something." sunoo asks curiously, sipping on his drink as he watches you.

"i finished, i was just checking if everything is right. here." you respond, handing him the piece of paper. you close your pen before grabbing your drink as well.

"84%?" he says, checking your notes. "eh... could have been better, but it's not that bad, i guess."

‧₊˚⭑.ᐟ YANG JUNGWON

"why do you need a test to prove our compatibility, anyway? we literally can't go a day without each other." jungwon states, resting his chin on the palm of his hand as his free hand twirls a strand of your hair."

it's just for fun, jungwon. i know that we don't need to prove our compatibility." you reply, glancing at him with a small smile.

he smiles back and then you set your pen down.

"there! 108%. we even broke the scale!" you exclaim.

jungwon shoots up instantly. "what?" he says, almost snatching the paper from your hands.

"woah. guess this test isn't so stupid after all."

‧₊˚⭑.ᐟ NISHIMURA RIKI

"this is stupid, my name is literally 4 letters. we're not gonna get a high score." riki says lazily, glancing at you scribbling on the paper.

"i already told you, it doesnt matter how many letters your name has, it's how many letters in common we have." you explain as you finish calculating the percentage.

you raise up the piece of paper and show him. "see? 98%."

riki's eyebrows raise in surprise as he leans closer to check. "damn. it's actually right. i thought you did some mistake on purpose just so we get a higher score."

"hey! you don't have any right to doubt my math skills when you've never stepped foot into school, you idiot!"

@jaysguitarstring 2025. translations and reposts are prohibited.

[erlann]

Sorry, I don't have any guides for these tools and didn't find any good one on the internet either. I made one myself for you this morning, super long and complete with screenshots and all, and then tumblr just... disappeared it... And I don't think I have the will to do it all over again with all the screenshots and explanations. I'll make a shorter one.

I'm assuming that you use Windows.

WizTree

The link to the installer is here. The wizard is straightforward.

You should run the disk cleanup utility as administrator first, so that you can rid of any unnecessary file (but please check that you don't have any important file in the recycle bin before having it emptied). You can just type up "disk cleanup" in the Windows search bar for it, then right-click instead of left-click, and select "run as administrator". You should definitely do this again every now and then btw.

When you open WizTree, what you want to look for is either big squares (single files that take up a lot of space, like movies or zip files) or many smaller squares all clumped together. The latter might be cache (Spotify, Telegram, all internet browsers, generate a lot of it. WizTree gives you the cue to open these programs and clean the cache from their respective settings), or some other thing (AMD Radeon for some reason likes to keep all past versions of its installer, even though only the most recent is useful). You might also notice some folders that are considerably bigger, for example all Adobe products are naturally chunky and so you might want to consider alternatives, like Photopea in lieu of Photoshop. Here I highlighted some examples on my laptop, files and folders which I would definitely check out first thing. And after deleting them, I would hit the "Scan" button again to refresh the graph.

It takes some effort to get used to the game the first time, but I think the immediate visual feedback of the colored blocks, the highlighting of the folder as you hover on it, the size proportion... They make WizTree a great tool. I also wish I could give you more precise information on what to look for exactly, but it really varies greatly from PC to PC, so I can't know for certain what might take up space on your machine.

Beware! Some big squares are best left untouched because they're Windows files: namely $MFT, hiberfil.sys, pagefile.sys, anything in "System Volume Information" or in "Recovery", and of course anything in the "Windows" folder.

If pagefile.sys is very big (say, bigger than 5 GB) and you're running out of storage space, you can reduce its size to something like 2 or 3 GB, following this guide.

Everything

Link to the installer here. This wizard is also pretty straightforward, you don't need to touch any of the default settings, just hit "next".

It takes just a few seconds to index all the files the first time you open it after turning your PC on, and then it's good to go. Instant search, system-wide, in milliseconds.

You should extend the "file path" column a bit so that you can clearly see *where* each result is located, and see if that's the file you were looking for or not.

Apart from the basic search, there are some useful options in the "Search" tab in the top row. Namely: case sensitive/insensitive search, including file paths in the search (e.g. if you want to look up a file called "Pamphlet" in folders called "Campus" instead of in folders called "Work". Then you would activate that option and search "pamphlet campus"), and including full words (e.g. if you know the file has the word "Boy" and you're not interested in files with "tomboy", "boyish", "flamboyant"). They're the top options in here (sorry that it's all in Italian, I'm a pizza pasta mandolino citizen):

In the lower part you can also see how you can filter the results based on whether it's an audio file, a zip file, an exe file, a folder etc. Neat, right?

any computer people wanna explain how the hell this works

it wont let me do shit bc i apparently have 81 gigs of apps clogging my c drive, but my largest app is 0.4gb?????? its not system applications either because system is its own segment of storage. wadda hell are you talking about

[ikeukiss]

〔 𝒾 〕 You always knew Jake would be an incredible father, but in practice is much different—and far more beautiful—than on paper or in your wildest dreams.

𝐬𝐢𝐦 𝐣𝐚𝐞𝐲𝐮𝐧 𝓍 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫, 565 ⋮ gen audiences ⋮ fluff, parents au, marriage au, girl dad!jake, slice of life au, pet names ᯤ 𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗈: sweet pea — amos lee

"Papa, you can't put the teacup there!" Hyunmi says with a squeal, stealing the plastic cup from her father's hands. Jake goes bug-eyed at her command. He's unsure what he's done to offend his daughter in such a way, one second changing her mood from excited to exasperated.

"I was just setting it down, sweetie," he murmurs. He turns to Layla for guidance, dumbfounded. The pup just wags her tail, a tiara sitting on her head to commemorate her title as "Crown Princess Protector." In Layla's eyes, she's just following protocol Jake was too lost in thought to remember, even if she has no drink or food to speak of.

"Not on the table! On the plate, papa. Like the princesses do." Hyunmi rolls her eyes and sets the cup filled with imaginary tea back on its saucer.

Jake sees your personality in Hyunmi with every scrunch of her face, the child a rotating wheel of expressions. Especially now, when she looks like she could smack Jake upside the head if she was tall enough.

Like clockwork, Hyunmi's plastic oven goes off with a shrill ring just as you enter the house in your work attire. You walk in with heavy shoulders and fatigue creasing the lines of your face, but seeing your husband and daughter in the throes of a tea party makes your heart seize up.

All the worries of your world disappear in that instant when they both cheer that you're finally home. It's easy to care little for the stresses of work, all long-forgotten as you watch Hyunmi boss her dad around like it's her destined profession and Jake looks at you like the first time he said he loved you.

Your daughter is fire and brimstone, but she's also built of flowers and the sweetest dreams. Her father could not be a better person to tame her storm, even if he lets her get her way ninety-nine percent of the time.

"How's my little lady?" you ask when she attacks you with a big hug. Her little arms barely wrap around your middle, but the five-year-old tries with all her might, anyway.

"We're having a tea party, mama! I made blueberry cookies," she whispers in your ear with a flourish. "Your favorite."

"Oh really? How did I get so lucky?"

"Easy. I'm the lucky one here," Jake butts in. He walks towards you, planting a kiss on your cheek when you're finally in arms-distance. "Missed you, sweetheart."

"Missed you more," you reply, snuggling deeper into your husband and moving your face to kiss him on the lips. It always feels like the first kiss, no matter how many years go by. Jake still has the tendency to make your heart race like the muscle isn't well-accustomed to his charms.

"Now that the queen is home, shall we continue with the party?" He dramatically bends as he extends a hand, making Hyunmi giggle from below. You accept the royal escort with a smirk, Hyunmi's hand in your other palm as you all make it to the living room table together, Layla immediately running over to give you welcoming kisses.

In this world, there is no place you'd rather be than with your family, your castle filled with only love and happiness. And it's all because of Jake, the king who holds the greatest treasures he could ever ask for.

── .✦ 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 (𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗬 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘):

@lovetaroandtaemin @filmnings @innocygnet @jaylaxies @xylatox @xomakara @gyubookeries @tinycatharsis @prkhaven

© 𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗨𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗦; 𝖣𝗈 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝖼𝗈𝗉𝗒, 𝗋𝖾𝗉𝗈𝗌𝗍, 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗌𝗅𝖺𝗍𝖾, 𝗉𝗅𝖺𝗀𝗂𝖺𝗋𝗂𝗓𝖾, 𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝗈𝖽𝗂𝖿𝗒 𝗆𝗒 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄 𝗂𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝗈𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝗉𝗅𝖺𝗍𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗆𝗌!

[stygiusfic]

this post got around a fair bit more than the handful of notes i could have expected! i originally made it as a reminder to myself of what has worked for me, because in the past when i've been trying some new habit and then broken it/lost momentum for a few days, it's easy to feel like once i've fallen off the horse i'll never get back on it.

i've been on and off and back on this particular horse consistently over the past few months, and i'm reblogging to say:

the best method is the one that makes you excited to write.

a fair number of the notes are some combination of "i should try this". like adding it to a to-do list. and i know this may not be the intent but the best thing you can do for yourself is to get rid of "should". throw "should" in the garbage.

"should" cannot apply to things you do for enjoyment. "should" is for obligations, for tasks, for the watchful pressure of The Correct Way to Do Things. "should" is not for things you look forward to doing; "should" is for things you look forward to having done.

but 99% of writing is the "doing" part, so you kinda have to look forward to it and find joy in it, otherwise why bother?

i know that's easier said than done. believe me, i'm still in the trenches. but on those days when i can't hype myself up for the "doing", it's more fruitful in the long run to be kind to myself and give myself the day off, without blame, without shame. and that means there is fewer negativity associated with writing, for me, so i can enjoy it more on the days i do want to do it.

seriously, if you take nothing else away from the method in my initial post, take this:

figure out at what point in the day your mind is best able to focus and enjoy being creative without outside pressures. it's early morning for me, but could be late at night or during your lunch break for you.

doing other stuff, especially physically active, while puzzling out problems does help. a staring contest with the blinking cursor on your document will NOT help, in fact it'll do the opposite, you won't solve it and you'll only build frustration (bad feelings you'll associate with writing, that will make you less likely to want to write). so many times i'm stuck on a sentence and i get up to take out the trash or do dishes and the solution comes to me.

figure out how to increase the positive feelings associated with writing. for me that's daydreaming at other times so my excitement is at the forefront of my mind when i sit down. you may prefer to put on a specific playlist or light a candle. whatever works!

you can skip any number of steps, if they don't help you. i'm not the boss of you. tailor your experience.

if you miss a day, or a week, or a year, you aren't a failure. that horse will be there waiting patiently for you to get back on it. (i fear this is where the analogy breaks down, considering... horses).

in order to succeed, you need to set yourself up for success, the way that works for you. it can take a while and a lot of trial and error to figure out how to set yourself up like this, but it's worth it.

good luck, and happy writing!

early morning writing hack (real) (it's been working for about a month now):

think about the scene you're going to work on that morning not when you sit down to write, but the previous evening. this is daydreaming but with purpose. think about what might happen and how the characters feel about it. get excited. don't write a single word.

go about your evening normally, doing whatever else you do. your subconscious is a slow cooker and while you do other stuff, it's working on your idea for you.

get up early, like an hour before you'd need to start your day if you were cutting it close. everyone else in the world is snoozing their alarm, so no one can bother you rn. you're free! no one can judge your writing, not even you!

(optional i guess but it really helps me) unless the first few words of your scene are already clear in your mind, warm up. I've abandoned the idea of warm-up drabbles or whatever the hell people recommend. instead, I pull up a story by someone whose writing I love, and I type out a fragment of it in a blank doc, reading the words out loud as I go. this wakes up my writing brain as I become aware of how their prose and dialogue work their magic, when and where they reveal new information, how each detail leads to the next. I'd advise doing this with work that is of high quality and purposeful, so you can learn their tricks, but I'm not the boss of you.

write!!!!!!!

don't stop to judge if it's good or not!! it's too early for that shit!! if the draft sucks you can fix it later but you need the draft done first!!

do stop once yesterday evening's daydreaming prep has run out and you're out of steam. (sometimes the momentum can reveal the next part of the story you hadn't actively considered yet, but don't depend on it.) if you hit a wall where you have no idea how to continue, or it's still too vague to put words down, trying to push through will only bring frustration. and even if you do manage to write a bit more, the chances you'll end up scrapping it later because it doesn't fit are significant. just call it there, you're done.

take a minute to appreciate what you accomplished. you now have words you didn't have yesterday. you won the day, and meanwhile everyone else is still asleep, the absolute losers

if you use a word tracker, go ahead and input your word count for the day. maybe you got a lot done, or maybe you didn't; it's a victory either way. on mornings when I've been struggling, writing and then erasing and writing again, if I'm too pissed off to check the word count I just put down a symbolic number, like 50 words. it may not look like much, but when I look at the month's stats it feels good to have proof that I showed up and did the thing even when it was hard.

now you can start your day. and frankly at this point I don't give a shit how annoying my day is, because I already did the thing I care about getting done, so I'm not going through work resenting every task for stealing brain juice I could've used for writing in the evening. "I'll write when I'm done with work" is the ADHD hubris devil speaking.

and now it's the evening and you're free to daydream again!! and use absolutely zero brain power!! wheee!!

[mystical-salamander]

Imagine: Zeb and Kallus have been sparring regularly for months. It has become their thing and something they both look forward to and treasure. But lately Zeb has noticed that Kallus seems to have picked up a handful of sparring buddies that he regularly spar against on top of his usual matches with Zeb. Of course Zeb assumes he must not be enough of a challenge for Kallus. And really it shouldn't hurt as much as it does. It's not like he has a claim on Kallus as a sparring buddy.

In reality, Kallus realized that Zeb was starting to gain the upper hand more often than not during their spars. Which made him worry Zeb would eventually get bored of their matches, as he wouldn't actually face much of a challenge in Kallus. So, Kallus set out to hone his skills to remain a worthy opponent.

Anyway, this is obviously an easily resolved misunderstanding, BUT I do think it's fun because it forces Zeb to consider why in the world Kallus sparring with others feels like some kind of violation of their bond. Like what had he actually been reading into their sparring sessions besides friendly competition?? The whole thing forces Zeb to reevaluate feelings he had previously tried to ignore xbxbx

Meanwhile Kallus is definitely overexerting himself for the sake of trying to improve his skills. He's being a bit of a competitive idiot who does not at any point even stop to question why it matters so much to him xD

Yeeesss!! I'm imagining it and I'm loving it!

Love how they both hold their sparring matches so dearly! So much so, that they're worried about the other replacing them T^T

Honestly the fact that Zeb sorta takes it as Kallus cheating on him has me cackling XD Especially if Kallus was hiding the fact that he had the other sparring partners??? I love that so much, lmao. What about your warrior's bond Kallus??? 😤😤😤 How could you????

Gonna put all my thoughts under a cut cause I think they got too long ;^^

But oouugghh, Zeb thinking that he isn't being enough of a challenge for Kallus. Next time they spar he gives it his all, round after round he beats Kallus, trying to demonstrate that he doesn't need those other sparring partners (all without actually telling him anything or maybe he makes a bitter comment about it/tells Kallus that he found out about it).

Meanwhile Kallus interprets it as him falling behind! Which of course makes him believe that he needs to practice/work even harder! Which, as time goes on, has him exhausted and sore and makes him lose even more of their matches. I could see him explaining away his extra sparring partners as needing to practice against average sized people XD After all, him and Zeb are big guys! It could throw off his fighting in a life or death situation! He tells Zeb that maybe he should find some other sparring partners too (the moment Kallus says this, he hates that he did). And Zeb is offended at the suggestion.

And maybe what really sends Zeb over the edge is that Kallus ends up with a Wookie sparring partner. Him fighting other humans? That stings sure, but nothing Zeb can't get over eventually. But a Wookie?? Surely that means Zeb isn't enough for Kallus anymore, he's getting replaced. He thought Kallus and him were on the same page about how they felt about being sparring buddies, but clearly Kallus doesn't hold it as dearly as he did.

And yeeess!! Zeb reanalyzing their bond!! Wondering why he felt so hurt! Having that OH! moment!!! Yeeeesss!! Could totally see a Spectre being the one to give him that little push to think about why it bothered him after he rants about the situation to them. But the fact that he was trying to ignore those feelings is so good 👌 The way his heart speeds up whenever Kallus gives him a cocky grin, he loves the power he feels when they clash, everything about sparring Kallus is such an exhilarating experience. And Kallus not bothering to analyze it lmao– it'll hit him like a ton of bricks soon I'm sure XD Also I love how seriously he takes it!! He's gonna get a good grade in friendship 😤 An Absolutely normal thing he should want to achieve!

As Kallus is sparring the non-Zeb people, he's notices the lack of spark, it's not as fun or exhilarating as it is with Zeb. He doesn't understand why and he pushes it down since in his mind he's doing this all for Zeb. The spark will return...

Honestly I could totally see it all getting resolved during an explosive argument 👀 Perfect for all the drama! Maybe they're sparring too! 👀 After a while of tension brewing, Zeb invites Kallus to spar and talk, only for it to all start boiling over and that's when Kallus finally manages to trip and pin Zeb on the ground and yell that he did all of this so Zeb wouldn't replace him!

It all goes quiet and their heavy breathing is all that's heard until Zeb furrows his brows and asks Kallus what the hell is he talking about? He was never planning on replacing Kallus, the thought never cross his mind. He thought Kallus was replacing him! He barely even noticed that he had been winning a bunch of their matches, he didn't care, what mattered was that he was with Kallus!

Maybe he shouldn't feel that way and thinking about it now it feels so silly that he felt so betrayed. It was just sparring after all.

He goes quiet, takes a breath trying to relax, and tells Kallus how he's been thinking about him– and them– a lot during this whole thing....

Aaannnnnd... from there I can't decide if Zeb would confess his feelings or if he avoids it and instead tells Kallus that he's alright with Kallus seeking other partners (seeing how Kallus might not make the connection yet? Or maybe he does during their conversation idk!)

And Kallus... well he just feels like an idiot by the end of it, lol. Maybe he starts slowly making the connection there 👀 He's like... wait...

[edwardhartenjoyer]

Dance with Me

Part 3

Featuring: Taiga | Romeo | Ritsu

Taiga Hoshibami - You were hanging out in the casino of Sinostra, there to be your boyfriend's 'good luck charm' as he liked to call you.

You were bored, though. You didn't mind the excuse to sit on his lap and nap normally, but today, you just wanted to do something fun.

"Taiga, I'm bored. Can't we go do something." You whined softly to him once he won his latest hand.

"We are doing something, Kitty Cat. You're watching me win gyahaha"

You pouted, "I meant something fun, like a date or dancing!" You huffed. He looked at you and raised a brow as a grin broke out across his features.

"Kitty Cat wants to dance huh?"

"Yes, dancing would be fun."

"I'm bored of winning anyways, let's go dance then Kitty" He stood up, and you yelped, clinging to him as he easily manouvered you to carry you in his arms.

He brought you up to his room before setting you down. You wasted no time quickly setting up a song to dance to, not wanting Taiga to lose interest before you even got to see what he danced like.

When the music started, he pulled you close, and, to your complete shock and surprise, he was a really good dancer. Far better than you thought he'd be, and better than you were. He laughed softly anytime you faltered a bit.

When the song ended, he pulled you into a spin before dipping you. He grinned down at you as your face blushed darkly.

"How was that for fun, Kitty?"

Romeo Lucci - You were working in the VIP lounge, monitoring the cameras for your boyfriend while he handled other matters.

Though, you felt like you were starting to go cross eyed from watching the screens and leaned back, looking away from them to give yourself a break.

You looked over to Romeo and watched him for a moment, observing the graceful way he moved even when yelling at someone over the phone. A thought came to you then, and you voiced your question without thinking.

"Romeo? Do you know how to dance?" You asked once he'd hung up his phone. He snapped his head over to look at you.

"What are you babbling about BB?" He huffed. He took a deep breath to calm himself before responding again. "Yes, I know how to dance. Why?"

"Could you teach me?" You pleaded. You wanted to do something fun, and something to get away from staring at screens all day. He frowned.

"I'm FTBTD"

You stared at him for a moment, silently trying to piece together this latest acronym.

"Far to beautiful to dance?" You guessed. You knew he meant busy, but you were hopeful that if you played into his pride, he'd give in.

He gave you a withering look before he sighed. "Fine, one dance." He always did give in to you.

He picked a song and let it start playing before he guided you into the steps. He was, for all his usual short temperment, a fairly patient teacher. He'd calmly correct you, only yelling if you managed to step on his feet one too many times and scuffing his shoes.

When the song ended, he pulled you through an elegant twirl into his arms. "Happy now?" He asked, though his tone was more amused than annoyed.

You beamed at him "Very."

Ritsu Shinjo - Bored. Bored, bored, bored. You sighed and slouched in your seat a bit before glancing at Ritsu and straightening your posture.

You were meant to be studying in your room with him, but you just couldn't focus anymore. You were endlessly bored and wanted to do something interesting.

"That's the fifth time you've sighed in the last 20 minutes. Are you okay? Is the material too hard, or would you rather we allocate this time to something more suited to your current mood?" Ritsu asked, as usual, being able to read you like a book.

"I'm just so bored. I can't focus on these words anymore, and I want to do something fun."

Ritsu nodded and closed his book, turning his full attention towards you. "What would be more fun for you then?"

You shrugged, before thinking of an idea that made you grin, "How about dancing?"

"I was unaware dancing was a passtime for you...I'll have to update my files.."

"It's not really, I just think it'd be fun for us to dance together." You admitted, watching as a faint blush rose up on his cheeks.

"You wish to dance with me?" He asked. "Then I won't disappoint you, though dancing is perhaps a skill I lack in."

"That's okay, I'm not the best either, but it's more about having fun than being good."

So you set up some music, cleared away some space, and took Ritsu's hand as he offered it to you.

He definitely wasn't going to win any dance contests, but that was okay because you were having fun. You guided him through the steps and both just making up some when neither of you knew the moves.

When the dance ended, Ritsu hestitantly let go of you. "That was quite fun. Perhaps we should schedule time to do something like this again. That way we can both improve as well."

You smiled and kissed him. "I'd love that."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tag list: @cloudcountry @ventisimpilysm

Wanna be added or removed? Let me know!

[ckret2]

Can you give us more Scaramouche/Aku content please? I crave this ship/their dynamic

With pleasure! have a bunch of headcanons

I'm currently working on a fic so I'm (mostly) trying to avoid headcanons that'd spoil parts of that fic. most of these are ideas I've left in comments or DMs but haven't put in an actual post, so the topics are all over the place.

this is one of those "this got so long that i'm unironically giving it a table of contents so i remember what's in it" posts.

a note on chronology

aku's (baselessly) worried jack could use scaramouche against him

once that's not a concern, EVERYONE'S gotta watch the wedding.

if aku's in love he's insufferable about showing off his beloved.

and insufferable about showing off for him.

scaramouche is the only bot in his line with a crush on the boss

his line was custom designed to meet aku's aesthetic tastes

scaramouche at karaoke night

scaramouche & his aku tattoos engravings

no matter who asks for the first date, it goes badly

aku's big on gift giving. like, 💰💰💰💸💳💎💍👑🔑

lot of people go "aku had a robot boyfriend built for him?? cringe"

don't use cute pet names on aku, it might kill him

"trading assassinations for dinner dates" romcom

1. some of these headcanons are pre-relationship, some are during a relationship. whenever I mentally insert scaraku into canon I never interpret it as "Aku & Scaramouche are having a relationship off-screen we just don't see." Instead, my interpretation is "Scaramouche has a decades-long crush on Aku; Aku would reciprocate if he knew, but he doesn't, and so it's never occurred to him that romance with a robot is even an option."

So any headcanons about them together as a couple aren't set in the canon timeline, but some alternate timeline where they get together (and obviously aku didn't blow up scaramouche's head.)

2. Aku's never struck me as bashful or self-conscious about his desires. If he wants something, it's everybody's business. he's telling the whole planet and if he isn't handed what he wants in five minutes he's stealing it. I imagine he'd be the same way about romance.

With one exception: when Jack's around. If Jack were to fall in love, Aku wouldn't hesitate for a second to use Jack's love interest against him (even, as it turns out, if that love interest is Aku's own flesh and blood), so he sort of assumes Jack would do the same to him. Even though Jack's a good guy. Like that would probably be one of those "for the greater good" things Aku's heard about.

Love is a weak spot. If Jack stabs Scaramouche through the chest, it'll be Aku's heart that feels it. (like, metaphorically—but I guess also literally since Scaramouche is powered with Aku essence? but we're talking about the metaphor right now.) I doubt Aku's been in love or whatever-close-approximation-passes-as-love-for-him very often, if ever before. He's not used to having a vulnerability like that. This little robot is a piece of Aku's heart that's much MUCH easier to kill than the rest of Aku is.

So as long as a guy eager and able to kill Aku is running around, Aku won't want the world to learn about this new weakness. Any relationship is top secret and Scaramouche isn't allowed to get anywhere near Jack.

3. But the second Jack's no longer a threat—OR if Jack somehow finds out about them so there's no point keeping it a secret—every TV channel on the planet is interrupted with a broadcast from Aku going "what's up bitches i'm getting married and you have to watch it or die" (he probably doesn't say it like that.)

if "Jack's no longer a threat" overlaps with "Jack's still alive" for some reason (truce? lost his sword again??), Aku's making a big deal out of inviting his daughter to the wedding and mentioning in the invitation that she can bring a +1. like, oh of course I'M not inviting the samurai, but I care about him so little that i'm not even telling you you can't bring him. that's how unimportant he is. double insult.

the wedding thing's a half joke. but like if it happened it'd go like that.

4. When Aku's got nothing to fear, he'd be SO annoying about being in a relationship. Only the greatest specialest little robot in the world could possibly have won the almighty Aku's attention, much less affection, and that means Scaramouche is the best and Aku's gonna show him off; disrespect this robot and you are disrespecting Aku (he will kill you). This is his Yoko Ono, his George Viliers. Half the world's gonna grow to really hate Scaramouche.

Scaramouche isn't bothered by this. They just hate him because he snagged the ruler of the world. Suck his hypothetical penis.

5. having a romantic relationship would just make aku even more over-the-top. Being in the same room as someone he feels loved by would puff up his ego like a helium balloon. Usually he has to keep that ego inflated by himself! Getting regular tributes from enslaved subjects can only do so much for him when he KNOWS they're only doing it on his orders; having just one person he genuinely likes who thinks the WORLD of him—not because he forced them to—would do more for him than a hundred dumb monuments in the ocean.

Scaramouche walks in and immediately smiles when he sees him and Aku knows he means it and instantly gets a little giddy, and now he's like I've gotta show off. kills the next person who walks into the room.

6. I've mentioned that I headcanon Scaramouche is just one unit in a line of robots designed & programmed similarly to him: same basic body, same initial skillset, same emotion programming—which means same preprogrammed loyalty to Aku.

Yet Scaramouche is the only one who developed a crush on the boss.

The rest of them are like "yeah of course i'm loyal to the boss to the end, but if the samurai ever actually kills him, either i'll keep working for whoever replaces him or go find some other job. i probably wouldn't even be sad about it." and meanwhile scaramouche is like "if the samurai ever kills the boss i'm just gonna kill myself too. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ no, wait. if the samurai kills the boss, I'M gonna have to go find a time portal so i can go back and stop HIM—" and the rest are like "what's wrong with you."

every once in a while he'll have a conversation with the other robo-assassins that ends with something like "what do you MEAN the rest of you don't think Aku's handsome?!?!" "WHAT'S HANDSOME ABOUT HIM??" "if he's not the standard by which you judge all other beauty, then i don't know how to explain it to you."

They're all painfully aware of Scaramouche's crush. They have all let him know they think he's an idiot. Somebody dropped a poll in the robo-assassin group chat, "DO YOU THINK AKU LIKE-LIKES SCARAMOUCHE?" 1 vote yes 11 votes no. The yes vote is a lie based on hope.

7. when Scaramouche's line was being built, the scientists told Aku that these were gonna be some super advanced robots—they've got programming for emotions and evolving personalities so they can continue to develop after they're built, they're designed to be able to survive with like 99% of their bodies blown up so that they can be rebuilt with their memories intact, these are the assassin bots of the future, these things will be usable for centuries if not longer.

And Aku went "well if i've gotta stare at these things for that long, then I at least want to like looking at them." so he told the scientists how he wanted them to look.

Which means that, without realizing it, Aku had these bots custom-designed to be particularly handsome according to his personal aesthetic standards. which shouldn't have been an issue, it's not the first time he's told his scientists "if I'm gonna be using these things then I want to like how they look," that's how he ended up with an army of beetles. except then one of these very pretty bots started hitting on him.

8. aku's in an interesting position where he basically defines "mainstream" culture—he's this world's government and god and has been for millennia, HE'S the one broadcasting propaganda, HE gets to decide what's on the airwaves; but at the same time he's also kind of the counterculture because, like… nobody wants this. nobody likes him being in charge. but in either case he's at the center of global culture. culture is defined by its orbit of him.

so people write songs about him, or songs using him as a metaphor for something else, as one does about major cultural figures. and songs about him might be:

part of mainstream culture: you know those christian rock songs that sing about jesus in a way that kind of makes you go "is the singer in love with jesus orrr—?" those, except about aku

part of the counterculture: you know how christian songs sing about the devil? those, except about aku. he considers songs about him being evil fine, but songs about casting him out/rejecting him/getting rid of him/him being defeated by some higher purer power are Not Approved, you're risking some trouble playing songs like that. but they're still written.

part of the counter-counterculture: you know how like tongue-in-cheek satanic metal bands sing about the devil? "he's awful he's terrible he's the worst yay yahoo hurray we love him"? those, except about aku. they basically loop back around to being mainstream in spite of somehow also being opposite of the mainstream songs.

"what's this got to do with scaraku?" never go to karaoke night with scaramouche because all you're getting is songs from category 1 and category 3.

9. Scaramouche has at least one engraving on his body dedicated to Aku. He possibly gets more. He's got like, you know those full sleeve tats that look like an oni or a dragon or whatever? Gets an engraving like that but it's of Aku.

To whoever does Scaramouche's engravings, he probably comes across as like,, one of those unhinged ultra-patriotic nationalists who gets a bunch of tattoos of the cult of personality dictator. Okay, creepo, as long as you're paying for them

tattoo artist doesn't find out Scaramouche is anything other than a crazy patriot until the day he comes in beaming looking like somebody used a jackhammer to carve the word "AKU" in his chest and asks for it to be filled in with gold. "It's kinda sloppy, you sure you don't want it cleaned up?" "Nope!" "Where'd you get this one done?" "Autograph from the boss himself!" "What." surely this robot means LITERALLY an autograph. Like at a meet and greet or something.

on some other engraving, "Okay, do you want the face filled in with gold like the other engravings, or do you want enamel so I can get it red and green?" "Uhhh… hold on." Pulls out his phone "hey Aku baby!!! Do you want your face in gold or enamel?" "Dude what the fuck, do you have his number?" They're like half a dozen engravings deep before the artist is like wait what do you mean you actually know him. What do you mean you're in love with him. Not sure if that's better or worse than the crazy patriot thing.

10. if Aku's the first one to ask for a date he's gonna unintentionally scare the shit out of Scaramouche. internal monologue: "should i ask him if he's free tomorrow? wait. why would i ask. i'm the one who gives him his jobs, i should know if he's free. i can make him free."

Scaramouche, talking to the robo-assassin group chat: "babes i think i fucked up :(" shares a screenshot with the group chat of a text from Aku that says "I'm canceling your next job. Report to my audience chamber tomorrow."

there are characters who are careful about navigating the nuances of a relationship with a significant power imbalance, and aku is not one of them. (Whatever Aku loves is HIS, and he'll take good care of them, treasure them, give them anything they want—but they don't get a say in the matter. If Aku's in love, the beloved doesn't get the option to say no.)

It's better for everyone if Scaramouche makes the first move—but he's been trying to make the first move for like the past twenty years and the hints fly straight past Aku. He's invited Aku to like five different public executions and every time Aku's turned him down thinking "well he just mentioned he was going to the execution and asked if I wanted to go too, only a fool would talk about their weekend plans in front of the lord and master of all and then exclude him, he only invited me to be polite."

11. Aku's INCREDIBLY grandiose with affectionate favors & gifts. he owns everything, he can do that.

like,, he approaches scaramouche like "hey i do a lot of business in this big city, i should get a permanent place to stay when i visit, you spend a lot of time in that city right? do my househunting for me, let me know which places you think are best. the budget is five million bucks—minimum." and after scaramouche gushes about a few places aku gets one and goes "ok here's the key." "wait, didn't you get this place so YOU'D have somewhere to stay?" "i did. this place has seven damn bedrooms, i'm sure you can keep one set aside as a guest room for me."

Scaramouche doesn't even want expensive stuff. expensive stuff is nice, but that's not what he's here for, he just wants aku. now he gets aku AND expensive stuff. he's the luckiest robot in the world.

he tries to return the favor, but unlike aku he's on a budget. he's not above stealing gifts, though. most common gifts he brings are jewels of various kinds—bonus if they're magical. the boss likes pretty enchanted rocks, and what the boss wants, he gets.

12. there are definitely some people who see Aku, who is the most single a person has ever been, get together with a robot, and assume "that guy's so lonely and so unpopular that he got some kind of sex bot built & programmed to be his boyfriend so he can pretend he's loved."

if Scaramouche overhears any claims like that, his response is generally "do you wanna see just what i was built & programmed to do?" 🗡️🗡️🗡️

"Aku's #1 assassin" isn't a SUPER well-known celebrity position—but it's well-known enough for a lot of people to instantly reverse their position on aku's new toy when they hear his name. oh you mean THAT scaramouche? scaramouche the merciless?? ohhh.

13. Aku is not designed to accept affectionate statements and terms of endearment. ZERO defenses against it. throwing a pet name at aku is like unleashing an invasive species on a delicate ecosystem: that thing does NOT belong here and it's gonna demolish everything in its path. aku has no antibodies for this virus. a single cutesy nickname can KO him for an hour.

Scaramouche calls him "hot stuff" and his entire face catches on fire and that's how Scaramouche learns what Aku's version of a blush looks like.

the latent leftover code from X-49 buried deep in Scaramouche's programming surfaces and he unthinkingly calls aku "sweet thing," and aku excuses himself from his audience chamber to melt in a puddle in his bed and stare at the ceiling. what is this nonsense. he is not a thing that is sweet. it's absurd. he's not thinking about anything else for the rest of the afternoon.

scaramouche is convinced he just keeps accidentally insulting aku.

14. In the IDW comics, in one issue there's a running gag about Aku upgrading Jack's bounty to "20 googolplex and a dinner date with Aku." in the depths of my DMs there's a serial killer romcom fic I'm never gonna write where Aku offers a dinner date as part of the bounty for various high-level targets, with the tacit understanding that what this means is more like "you get aku's attention for an hour to attempt to network with him or plead for your family's safety or whatever you want. and you get dinner out of it."

except scaramouche manages to take out one of these targets, goes on one dinner date, INSTANTLY falls in love even though aku did absolutely nothing to try to impress him, and starts knocking out one name on Aku's Most Wanted list after another to rack up these dinner dates.

the second time it happens aku goes "this bot again?" the fifth or sixth time it happens aku goes "this bot AGAIN???????" after the thirtieth time it happens he's going "it's been three weeks since scaramouche took out a target with a dinner date attached, what's taking him so long??"

after like the 10th date scaramouche is telling everyone he knows "yeah aku and i are definitely officially a couple" and simultaneously aku's thinking "i wonder if scaramouche would be interested in making things official. ... no, of course not, if he was interested he wouldn't only ask me out when he's collecting a bounty."

scaramouche's pals are trying to convince him that if he and aku were an item, aku wouldn't require him to kill somebody every time they go out—"he's a busy guy, that's just his excuse to make time for me!"—and meanwhile aku's sitting on his throne staring at his phone trying to telepathically command scaramouche to call him.

this idea is more silly than anything else. the idea of Aku, Shogun of Sorrow, Master of Masters waiting for a call from his kind-of-unofficial-boyfriend like a lovesick teen just amuses the hell out of me.

[timkontheunsure]

@jester-nonconforming while Millie and her family doesn't have institutional power, people like them have more power day to day to fuck people over.

And that's what I want Millie to come to terms with it.

(Even if it's very unlikely to come from Sallie May 🙂. Honestly happy to have misread that).

Millie's family owns a pretty large farm, with regular vacancies, incharge of hiring and firings.

Not one a single hellhound is employed there. Not a single hellhound is even at the festival, except Loona. So no body in this town is employing a hellhound here.

Then there's how Millie has the power to ruin Loona's day, and make her feel unwanted, in Loona's own family business.

Both Millie and Moxxie can do this anytime they want, and did till recently.

Institutional power can feel too all encompassing to really feel like there's a way to change it.

It's what bribes your government takes, it's weather or not banks will lone to you, it's if you have to wait 5 years for a yearly vaccination or not.

But the power people like Millie has is up close and personal.

It's hiring and firings for bullshit reasons like you're hair being unprofessional, it's the apartment suddenly being rented out the moment when you apply. It's bullying in work because of something you can't change about yourself.

Without even really thinking about it, Millie can and did make Loona feel unsafe, and unwanted; in the space that specifically designed for her.

Blitz wants to help his found family out with IMP, that the whole point of it.

But it's a family business, and that job was made so Loona would have a safe space; after the trauma of the foster system, and group home that's was just a pound.

Blitz can't do anything to make that system better, nor can Millie; or realistically even Stolas at the height of his power.

It would take Bee noticing and staying involved over the long term. Something she's very unlikely want to do.

I like Bee alot, but she about the high life and throwing a good party; more than she is about politics and institutional change. She's what you want, blowing off steam. Not what you need, systematic change.

And it's is important that Blitz calls all the Sins out on that. But that's big picture stuff that can take years to overcome.

Yer it's important that the top down hate is pointed out, cus unlike our world the people who set up this system are alive and around to yell at. And infinitely more likely to listen, in Bee and Ozzie's cases; than go full fascist if people ask for basic rights.

But it's also important we don't forget the day to day damage normal people like us can and do do to people with less privilege.

It's kinda important we look at what amount of power Stolas might have been able wield to change things.

Like he can break the law on who gets to use the grimoire, with a slap on the wrist. But he couldn't refuse a marriage, or not have a 'precautionary heir', being made easily replaceable.

He loved one imp and would have been killed by his wife for it, if Andy didn't want something.

If Stolas have really started to make changes, outside his own house*, would it really have been long before Paimon called in that's implied threat? (*I'm certain he could have done better for the people he employed with no kickback).

But Stella seemed pretty confident that the rest of the Goeita would side with her, because of Stolas' choice in lovers. If Via was younger she might have been right. No divorce, and she could kill him for the embarrassment factor. It does seem possible.

I'm also not trying to let Stolas off here either, because he neither had the will nor the inclination to make any changes when he did have power.

That something his only start to learn now. (phft he's a dumbass, but we love him).

None of the imps working for him ever got Sinsmas off, and the fecker could use them as a stress ball, or make their day worse by being a dunk idiot all shift.

Sure, he was willing to give Blitz a shot, and lend him the resources to start IMP. And that's also not nothing.

But if it was someone else he didn't know, hell no are they getting that book. Let alone a shady sweetheart no monye deal for sex work.

(Bee and Ozzie also wouldn't have spoken up for Blitz if they didn't already know him).

(No other imp is getting this treatment).

There's a mantra that was drilled in my head as a kid; 'it's not what you know it's who you know'. Me and sib's first jobs were gotten at 7, cus we needed the cash. These were through someone who knew our mum. (We were still expected to get good grades too lol).

But there's very few Blitzs. People both willing and able to take a shot on you; because they think you have talent. Like how Blitz does with Moxxie and Millie.

Or take you in just cus they see you need someone to do that.

It's more often going to come down to who you know, and that lead us back to a whole town refusing to hire hellhounds... And Millie being raised like that.

Odd thought, but does anyone else think Sallie May will be used to explode Millie's previous microaggressions to Loona?

when the show starts Millie is more likely to call Loona their business's hellhound, instead of her name.

Making Loona joint office property, like a stapler or the photocopier.

And when Millie heads home, with the rest of IMP, for the harvest moon festival; we see where she got this attitude. From her family.

Everyone else gets introduced by name; but Loona who's back to be described as property.

Which Blitz rightly backs Loona up when she calls this shit out. But he slightly misses the point saying Loona's his daughter.

She was asking to be seen as an individual, instead of resource owned by Blitz. Like a pet or a work animal. And Blitz bless him still ties her statues with these bigots to being his.

Sallie doesn't even mention Loona in the group of people who came to visit.

She mentioned Stolas, who wasn't even staying with in their home; when Loona was.

Millie seems to have started to come around to treating Loona better. Using her name, talking to her directly instead of past her. And even asking her nicely to do something, instead of demanding things like Millie did before.

Yep, it's the very bare minimum of starting to see the other person as a person. And if Millie's changes where pointing out now; it'd be Millie wanting a cookie for something she should have been doing all along.

But it is interesting that it's been left, when Stolas doing the same thing to Blitz has been called out. (Because both her and Stolas are trying to do better).

It feels like a way to have this address would be seeing her own sister pull the same crap she used to. Sallie is set to be in more episodes. (Pet theory is she's help out with Millie's maternity leave).

Loona didn't feel these people deserved to know her name, because she'd just be the hellhound to them anyway. It's not like any of them even asks.

I honestly can't see Sallie May not fucking this up and being very rude; with Millie having to think about her previous actions and apologise.

[little-lolaaa]

Mafia Boss!Chris Sturniolo × Stripper!Reader Pt. 2!

(I'm bad at warnings, so I apologize for anything I miss)

Warnings!! - pet names, sexual behavior, cussing, invasion of privacy, possible stalker(debunked), I can't think of anything else...

!!NOT PROOFREAD!!

I hated myself for accepting the money. I honestly wanted nothing more than to throw myself in front of a bus because of it. I went to work the next day and asked my manager who the guy was the requested the private from me.

"Oh! That was Chris, he said he loved the way you danced. Why?"

"Just curious, thanks, baby." I smiled softly. Walking back to my station to get ready for my shift, I kept thinking about him. Why did he send me the money? Was it even him? What if he's here again tonight?

I thought about every possible thing that could run through my mind before I started my performance. How old is he? What does he do? How did he get my bank information? Is he some crazy stalker? Stalkers can't look like cute and carry that much money in cash around can they???

I quickly pushed the thoughts away with a sip of an energy drink. I talked with some of the girls about the money and Chris, but they weren't really helpful. They told me to just ask for more money or try and get him 'wrapped around my finger'.

I mean- it wouldn't be bad to have him around my finger and at my mercy, but that's not who I am. I don't wanna use people for their money. Especially not someone I only met a few nights ago.

12:36 A.M.

I just finished my performance and started setting up my private rooms for customers. I cleaned up the tables, wiped off the couches/chairs and the stage. I also added some small finishing touches like candles to really set the mood.

My first private was a guy named Mack. He was a regular who paid a little bit more than I asked for. Always made sure to give a generous tip.

Jake was my second, I'd seen him around the club a few times, but this was my first private with him, so I made sure to give him an unforgettable experience.

By the time my 4th private came around, I was tired, sweaty, exhausted, and out of breath, but I pushed through and gave the client a performance.

I sat at the edge of the stage and waited for my final customer to come in. When I heard the door open, I stood up, my legs wobbling slightly from the constant dancing, and I got ready to give another dance. "No need ma, just sit down and relax. You deserve it"

His voice cut through the air like a sharp blade through paper. Jackass. Or chris, but none the less – jackass. "I hope you know I get paid to dance. Not sit around and be lazy." I snapped back. "And who's paying you?"

"..." I just rolled my eyes, not wanting to answer his stupid question.

"Exactly. Now, I'm paying you. Which means if I say you don' have to dance, you ain't gonna dance f'me alrigh' ma?" I stared at him, skeptical at first, but reluctantly sighed and sat down again. "Do you want anything to drink?" He asked softly, pulling out his phone. "No, no I'm okay. I'm not allowed to drink on the job anyway"

"Sodas ma, energy drinks, whatever floats your boat." he glanced up at me, waiting for my response. "Uhh-...I'll just have a water. Thank you.." I glanced around nervously. "Alright" he looked back down at his phone, typed something out, and then put it away again.

"Sooo..." I stated awkwardly.

"Do you like working here?" He spoke softly. "Uhh- yea- yea no- I mean- yea I like working here I- I yea- Uhh-"

"Relax, Ma. No need to be nervous, ok?" He reassured gently. "Yea, no- yea, sorry, I just- jesus, it's been a minute since I've actually sat down to take a breath." I let out a heavy sigh. "Water should be here soon, don't worry"

"I uhh- yea I like working here- I uhh..I meet a lot of new people, except the pervs, obviously, and uhhmm- the girls are nice. Love the girls and my manager, Lisa, she's amazing. I like to dance too, I really like to dance, actually." I admitted quietly.

"Yea? What do you like about dancing?" He leaned forward a bit, seemingly intrigued.

"I don't know how to explain it really - it's just something about getting to move my body around freely without any restrictions. I also like dancing even more now because I get to make money off of it, too. I've always liked dancing, too. It really helped me relieve stress and relax my body while simultaneously stretching and becoming more 'aware' I guess?? Of my surroundings? I don't know how to describe it really"

I tried my best to explain why I liked dancing to him, but without going on an hour long rant, it made my explanation seem stupid or really hard to understand. He just nodded along like he understood my explanation without actually understanding it.

"Aren't you gonna ask me about the money?"

His voice cut through walls.

"....why?" I asked softly. "Why did you send the money? And how did you get my information?"

"I'm a Mafia boss. The other night when I saw your dance, I went home after the private and dug up some of your information. I know I invaded your privacy, and I do apologize for that. My name is Christopher Sturniolo, but you can call me Chris, ok?"

"...Okay..." I muttered under my breath. "Did I..." Honestly, the first thing I thought of when he said he was a Mafia Boss was that he was gonna kill me. That's what Mafia men do, right? "Are you gonna kill me?.."

"What?-" He laughed. Actually laughed. In my face. "Kill you?- wha- no no no!- No, sweetheart, no, I'm not gonna kill you."

I let out a sigh of relief, almost sobbing. "Jesus fuck!- Holy shit I thought I done something so bad that got the fucking mafia involved! Fuck dude!" I laughed nervously. "No, ma, you didn't do anything. Apart from making me so hard the other night. Nothing terrible."

"Don't fucking do that man. Holy shit!- I thought I was gonna fuckin' die tonight" I rubbed my face a bit and finally relaxed.

"I wanna take you out. On a date." He said blankly. "What-"

"You heard me. I wanna take you out on a date. Somewhere nice. Fancy if you want"

I stared blankly at him, confused and shocked. "I'm not- uh- I'm sorry??" I laughed nervously. "Come on, sweetheart. Don't make this harder than it needs to be, ok?" He reached into his pocket slowly. Holding my gaze.

I froze, thinking he was gonna pull out a gun or threaten my life.

Instead, he pulled out a business card with his name and number on it.

"Just think about it, ok? Give me a call, and I'll have someone pick you up when you're ready." I just nodded softly and picked up the card, examine it a bit before folding it and tucking it away into my tiny bralette(??).

"Why are you dressed so casual?..the other night you were in a- a suit.." He glanced down at his outfit. He was wearing a pair of black sweats, a grey jersey-like-sweater with a red 72 embroidered on the front, white airforces, a red backward cap, and a silver chain on his wrist.

"I like to stay casual outside of work. The suit is normally for business transactions or meet-ups with other businesses." He leaned back against the couch again. Man spreading like a slut.

"You were wearing a suit the other night.." I spoke quietly, testing the waters.

"The other night didn't concern you, so don't push." His eyes flashed from calm to cold in a heartbeat. "Jeez- I was just stating a fact.." I rolled my eyes. But something about his defensive attitude made me more curious.

The door opened quietly, and a man in a suit came in with the water. He set it down on the table and left quickly.

"There's your water." He grabbed it and tossed it to me. I caught it but not without almost dropping it. I held onto it for a moment, glancing between him and the bottle. "Are you trying to poison me?" I asked half jokingly. "Want me to try it first?" He asked, already getting up and walking over to take the water. "I- I wasn't saying you were I was just-" Before I could finish my sentence, he took the drink, unscrewed the cap, and took a few big gulps before handing it back to me.

"Now drink." He demanded harshly.

I rolled my eyes but reluctantly took a small sip. "Good girl.." He praised softly, watching me intensely. "Go home for tonight. Think about my offer and then get back to me."

He patted my head like I was a toddler before leaving the room without another word.

"The fuck is his problem?" I said quietly to myself, rolling my eyes before taking another sip of the water.

I went home around 3 in the morning, wanting to finish my entire shift, and then took a quick and hot shower to wash off all the stress.

I stared at the card he handed me earlier, memorizing the business number like I needed it to live.

Should I call him??

(EEEEE! SO SCARED TO POST THIS😣😣😣😣)

[directdogman]

Hi I just wanted to say that you have inspired me a lot.

I have always wanted to write stories for a while now, I have big dreams and I hope to one day accomplish them.

Dsaf originally inspired my first oc, which to be fair I did just steal from dsaf (don't worry they are different now) it also inspired my Phone headed sona.

Your games, dsaf and dialtown are an inspiration for me, and I also was wondering if you have any advice for someone trying to write a massive project.

Sorry if I bothered you with this, have a nice day or night dogman

Ayyy, glad to hear my writing's inspired you!

To be frank, I mightn't be the best person to take writing advice from. I'm still a student in the grand scheme of things and any lesson I teach you would likely make you more like me as a writer, when you should always wanna aim past me! You should never settle for being as good as me when you can be so much better!

The only surefire creative advice I can give that might be useful to you now, which I know works because every successful artist I know has learned it, is to start small. However small you're thinking of right now, half it. Then half it again. Then half it AGAIN, and so on. Your first project should, if anything, just be a single scene. I know that might seem small, but trust me, that's always how it starts. When you're confident you've gotten the scene where you need it, then you work up from there, a few scenes, to a few more scenes, to a small game. It's better too if you don't just keep adding to the same game and start over each time for a reason I'll elaborate on now.

If you try to make a single project that's as large as the ones that inspired you, you will have a truly frustrating time. Aside from the fact that it's very difficult to organize a large project before you learn the skills that you'll pick up gradually as you make smaller projects, you also improve a lot as you start out. It's very common, especially at the very beginning of your journey, to constantly revise and remake your work as you go because every now and then, you'll improve so much that everything at the beginning is noticeably worse than what comes after.

This happens to all developers, to be clear, even ones with years of experience under their belts. It's the reason Fez took years to get out, by the developer's own admission. If your project takes a few days or even a week to make, you only have a small length of time to get better and want to scrap everything. Getting something, anything out there, getting feedback, being able to reflect on a finished product is an essential part of your creative journey and I know many developers who are more talented than me who've never gotten that far due to their tendency to set targets for themselves that they can't hit yet.

This lesson took me a much longer time for me to learn than I'd like to admit. I have about 4 long-term projects that never saw the light of day that I worked on for most of my teenage years (which I could make now), but couldn't then. If I'd made smaller projects during that time and honed specific skills, I'd likely be even better than I am now!

You'll get there if you stick with it. Learning any creative skill from scratch is an incredibly frustrating and at times, completely disheartening process. You'd be surprised how many times I almost quit doing this. But, nothing good's ever truly easy. Start tiny, work your way up! Through self reflection, feedback, added experience, you'll figure out your own style, your own workflow. And then... I am TOAST. Best of luck!

[tofics]

I finally made time to listen to this and I am so glad I did. Let's dive straight in, shall we?

This was my very first time hearing your voice, and I feel the need to point out what a pleasant voice you have, Alex! And I do mean this in the most sincere way, coming from someone who can be very very picky about what voices to listen to. I know this wasn't the point of the podcast, but I had to let you know :)

I took notes while listening, so I'll just be going through them and kind of sort them into something more tangible as I go.

It was awesome getting to hear so many "behind the scene" thoughts from you about your writing. There were a couple of small things you mentioned that I wanted to comment on just for the fun of it:

Something that draws you to a fanfiction is if characters are canonically written. It's funny you should say that, because your characters are some of the most in-tune-with-canon characters that I have ever read. I've mostly consumed your Dean stories, and even in an AU setting (I'm looking at you, Smoke Eater) he is 100% Dean as seen on the show. As far as fanfiction goes, that puts yours on a pedestal imo.

You considered doing something with Dean and Yellowstone for the Jacklesverse Bingo. (insert gif of me hysterically crying and hyperventilating) I've only just started watching Yellowstone this year and I am obsessed. I think you would have fried all my synapses if you had gone down that road, in the best way possible 😁

Hearing you talk about your friends on Tumblr and knowing you've included me in that group felt so so special! I'm so proud to be able to call you my friend on here. 🥹🫶🏼

But now! On to the actual topic of the episode :)

First of all, I found it very interesting that despite your own heritage, you grew up with a white reader in mind. Just goes to show how predominantly a white person is and has been the main character in so much of media that that's what your brain defaulted to.

I also thought your discussion about what makes an OC an OC and where a reader insert stops being a reader insert suuuper interesting. Because that's a genuine question! Where does a blank slate stop being a blank slate, and how much character do you have to give to the reader role in a reader insert fic for the story still to work, right? I loved to hear your take on it, especially where you said that writing reader inserts is basically like writing OCs without giving them a name. - I had never thought about it that way!

But of course, you're right. Because a reader that is an active participant in a story can't be a completely blank slate. They have to be assigned certain traits, not necessarily body-wise but character wise - if you're doing more than a drabble, imo. For there to be dialogue and a story that feels full, that feels alive, the reader has to have some sort of character to be a character.

Which brings me to my next point: projectability is always a thing of perspective and the ability to put yourself into someone's shoes. As far as fanfiction goes, the reader insert genre tries to make that as easy as possible by offering a mostly blank slate (that is very often white-coded, unfortunately, but that's not the point I'm trying to make in this paragraph). I have seen people complain more than once about the character!reader being unrelatable because of certain character traits and/or backstories that were assigned to them, and I wonder: people, where has your media literacy gone? Do they not teach to adapt to a person's perspective via literature in schools anymore? Must all media cater exactly to your every taste, down to each very nuance?

And I write all of this distinctively separating characteristic traits from body traits. I am not at all talking about the lack of ethnic representation within the x reader genre.

I love how you give personality to your reader characters, Alex. Especially when it comes to your own representation. You said in the podcast that you were worried about how the traits you assigned to your reader in the Midnight Espresso-verse would be received by your audience and that you received great feedback. I want to reiterate that by saying how despite myself not having the same background as you, I could absolutely relate to the plus-size aspect of the reader, as well as her love for cooking. You said it so beautifully in the podcast, that this version of the reader is one that came from the intent of Dean having a (Latino) girlfriend that nurtured him in the same way he nurtures the people around him, and I fully 100% could relate to that as well :)

Which might be my very complicated and long way of saying: Please do not worry about how much the reader can adapt to the traits you're giving to the character!reader. If most character!readers have been predominantly white for the longest time and so so many people that where not white made it work, then so can we white folks when we are given a reader that does not fit all of "our" typical criteria.

It made me very happy to hear that you're seeing more and more diversity within the SPN fandom these days. I've spent most of my time in the PPCU fandom this past year and all across it, but specifically in the Joel Miller fandom, there have been too many racist instances. It's great to hear that it's going better in other fandoms!

Which brings me to my next point - the anon request you got that led you to writing Unravel Me 👀 Wow. I haven't read it yet. It was on my TBR list anyway, but hearing you talk about how it came to be and how much thought you put into it (understandably so) it's now an absolute must-read for me. (Sort of unrelated but still related: I've seen your playlist covers for the story, and - wow??? A masterpiece??? Visually, I mean?! The EFFORT. I'll be speaking about this in a second, but I needed to mention it now in case I forget! Gorgeous!)

Another point that had me thinking a lot was the question about how much of an immigrant's identity should be kept and how much should be adapted to the country they've moved to also captivated me. I know US politics in regards to immigrants are ""problematic"" atm to say the least, and it's been a widely discussed topic over here in Germany for years now as well, especially with the heavy influx of immigrants over the past years. I can't imagine how complicated it must be, figuring out a sense of self that both fits to where you live and still keeps the core parts of who you are and were before coming to said country.

I want to wrap this up by saying how incredibly impressed I am every single time I hear/read about how you prep for your stories. I think you are by far the most in-depth fanfiction writer that I know. You put so much research into it, and not just for The Honorable Choice, but everything you put out. I'm struggling to find the correct words to properly express how admiring I find it, especially for a story like The Honorable Choice where you take on the perspective of someone of a different ethnic background than you.

You are an inspiration, Alex. Truly.

Thank you for welcoming me into the writing space when I came back. Thank you for answering every question I had, and thank you for the work you put into all of your stories.

To you, to your talent, your inspiration and work ethic, and to many more stories to come! 🩵

Racial & Ethnic Representation in Fanfiction

[🎙️ Podcast Interview]

Hey, friends! Sandra and Kasey, the lovely hosts of @idlingintheimpalapodcast — the podcast for all things SPN and fanfiction — invited me back on the pod for an interview on a topic that's very close to my heart…

With @rubyvhs, we talked about the fun moments and challenges about reading and writing fanfiction that represents specific racial and ethnic cultures, being bicultural/multicultural, the immigrant experience, and much more.

I offered my own experience as a Latina POC writing in the fandom space, specifically Supernatural and The Boys (and adjacent Jackles fandoms).

Check it out here: ⤵️

Interview Timestamps –

(Plus fic recs, SPN writer/reader shoutouts, and more! Links to all the fics we mentioned are at each time stamp.)

2:54 – When did you start writing fanfiction, and when did you join SPN fandom?

⟡ You can check out my first author interview with Sandra and Kasey over here. We chatted about Dean Winchester and Jensen Ackles’ early roles, the best and worst seasons of SPN, the joys and pains of writing Soldier Boy, and much, much more. For all the timestamps of key moments, fic recs, and SPN writer shoutouts, see this post (you'll find the link to the video there too).

6:18 – What is your ethnic, racial, and cultural background? (And how me and Sandra bond over “food and family” ties between Hispanics/Latinos and Italians.)

13:05 – The immigrant experience in America, what you take with you from the “Motherland,” the struggles of bicultural identity, my personal experience being a second-generation child of an immigrant family, and Sandra’s experience as a first-generation child of Italian immigrants.

16:58 – What do you look for when you’re reading fanfiction? (Canon-compliant, AU, romance, etc.) Does the length of a story matter?

19:52 – Bonus: The merits of drabble writing vs. long-fic writing.

25:54 – Have you ever actively searched for fanfiction that represented your ethnicity? (Whenever I do, it’s like finding gold.) Plus, the challenge of writing reader characters, the “gray area” of writing reader characters like OCs.

32:38 – The inherent “bias” of reading and writing reader characters as White. The concept of diversity being “cool” in popular media, TV shows, and movies is still pretty new.

36:36 – Why I started writing reader characters that might have a specific body type, race, and/or ethnicity.

Examples:

⟡ Midnight Espresso – Dean Winchester x Plus-size Latina!Reader

⟡ If I Stay – Dean Winchester x Plus-size!Reader

⟡ 10 ‘Til Midnight – Professor!Dean Winchester x Plus-size Grad Student!Reader

⟡ Unravel Me – Soldier Boy x Afro-Latina!Reader

⟡ The Honorable Choice & Outlander – Cowboy!Dean Winchester x OFC

40:14 – The fun challenges: like giving Dean a partner who takes care of him as much as he takes care of others in Midnight Espresso.

45:28 – The BIG challenges: like writing Soldier Boy being himself with a “person of color” (POC) in this new series, Unravel Me. What even is a POC? Where do you start with Soldier Boy, the Sandra-proclaimed “bowl of fishhooks?"

51:38 – Is there ever an element of fear when you publicly post a story that represents your culture, which is something very personal to you? What happens when you get haters in the comments?

1:05:33 – When and how did you begin to break out of the “ingrained biases” in your writing? (AKA: Always assuming my own characters are White.)

1:08:04 – When did you decide to explore writing plus-size!readers?

1:13:20 – What has your experience been in writing a race/culture outside of your personal experience? The Honorable Choice and Outlander, a western AU where Dean Winchester falls in love with a Native American Lakota Indian. (Shoutout to @jacklesversebingo!)

Plus, the ethical responsibility to “do no harm” when you represent different cultures, and answering question of not only can I write this, but should I write this?

1:32:42 – What advice would you give a writer interested in writing about a culture outside of their own that they don’t have first-hand knowledge of? How can a writer avoid cultural appropriation if their goal is cultural appreciation? How important is a sensitivity reader/beta reader for this effort?

1:40:35 – Final thoughts on diversity and representation of culture in fanfiction, whether it’s your own or someone else’s:

“Write what you know. Write what you can research. Write what you’re interested in. Remember that words have power, so be careful how you use them.”

1:45:30 – Sandra and Kasey’s outro: The importance of representation and diversity in fandom.

I hope you enjoy the ride!~ 💜

💗💗💗 Shoutouts to some of my beautiful friends and lovely readers who've supported my attempts to explore ethnic and cultural diversity in my writing:

@luci-in-trenchcoats @lamentationsofalonelypotato @waynes-multiverse @rizlowwritessortof @roseblue373

@tofics @deanwinchesterswitch @deanbrainrotwritings @deansbbyx @waywardlatina

@supernotnatural2005 @wayward-dreamer @spnwoman @waywardxwords @mostlymarvelgirl

@chevroletdean (shoutout to your 500 follower fic challenge at around 19:52 😘) @siampie @bettystonewell @wvffles

@iprobablyshipit91 @my-stories-vault @littlesoulshine @thatonewriter15 @jessjad

@deans-spinster-witch @winchestergirl2 @kazsrm67 @chernayawidow @jackles010378

@jollyhunter @leigh70 @foxyjwls007 @beakaleak32 @alwaystiredandconfused

[my-great-big-book-of-fan-fiction]

L Lawliet x Reader: how L handles pregnancy

Wrote this because I need fluff! Enjoy!

Lets get one thing straight, L would never expect himself to be a father

He's too busy

He's too closed off

He's too much of a target

But, on the other hand, he thought the same exact things about dating before he met you

And all you've done is bring him more joy and peace than he's ever experienced

On the other other hand, babies were entirely different

He couldn't find himself growing attached to a clump of cells, or a screaming raisin with hands

They were a lot of work, and while he had plenty of free time when he wasn't working, when he was he had to be able to devote himself to it completely

They also were loud, and smelly, and entirely uninteresting

But...you did want one very badly. He's not stupid, he can see how you look at toddlers on the street, or ads for baby bottles, or women pushing strollers

It was something you gave up in silence when you committed yourself to him, along with things such as weddings, and settling in one spot, and seeing your family often

All of that to say, his narrow success with the kira case has given him much to think about considering what he wants, what you want, and the value of his own life

He could have died

He could have died.

And what would you be left with? He didn't give you very many options, he's accidently turned you into quite the dependant person

it was the day he sentenced Light Yagami and all of his accomplices to death that he set up a will concerning everything to do with you, essentially setting you up for life. You don't know about this.

Weeks later, something that almost seems like fate strikes. You come to him, nervous, holding a pregnancy test.

You didn't want to alarm him, but your period was late, and most recently you've been experiencing morning sickness.

Turns out you're pregnant, about 4 weeks given the symptoms.

Now, you were standing in the doorway of the bathroom, test in hand, wide-eyed. He can't tell what it is, fear or excitement, or a mix of the two, but you're looking to him for solutions

"L...look..."

"What do I do?"

It's the first time he's been at a true loss for words.

It was a very good question.

What do you do?

"What would you like to do?"

He knew it wasn't that simple, but it would be nice to know your thoughts

"I...I don't know..."

"Would you..." he almost didn't want to ask

"Would you like to keep it?"

And then you were crying

it took quite a while to calm you down

But after a good, long talk, it was decided

You would keep the child

He doesn't know why he agreed or offered

He doesn't find himself to be good with kids

Maybe it was because he wanted something other than cases to do

Maybe it was because he wanted you to be happy

Either way, it wasn't a particularly good reason

In retrospect, he probably shouldn't have agreed so easily

no matter what, he was now determined to at minimum be well-read

you found that within a week, he was bombarding you with facts and questions

"Did you know ginger tea is extremely helpful with nausea? Would you like to try it?"

"The fetus should be about the size of a grain of rice, if we've calculated correctly."

"Are you feeling any tenderness around your breasts, or any mood swings?"

by the second month, he's asking questions you couldn't possibly answer

"How often did your mother pump breast milk? It would be useful to know about any aunts or cousins as well."

"They say a woman's intuition is the best tell of a baby's gender. I'm not one for superstition, but...do you have any feeling one way or the other?"

"It should be about the size of a raspberry by now."

As endearing as it was, his excitement could get a little tiring, especially when these questions were asked at 12 in the morning

That said, he more than made up for it with his patience

every time you rushed to the bathroom to throw up, he was padding after you to hold your hair and rub soothing circles across your back

Every time you had the oddest, frankly disgusting cravings, he was there to bring you pickles wrapped in ham and pepper jack cheese, or fill the sink with dishsoap so you could obsess over the smell while you ate ice

every time you sobbed over the fact that the puppies in the adoption commercials were "too cute to live in a place like this," he was there to run his fingers through your hair and assure you that puppies don't understand social injustice

he, to his own surprise, enjoys watching your belly grow, and your body change to accommodate the life inside

He swears you're glowing

In his own head, of course

He's also keeps you on a very strict schedule

at least 9 hours of sleep, three meals a day, all with the proper vitamins and proteins to support your health

You swear he worries too much, which he quickly bites back with a cool, "many things can happen during pregnancy. We must keep our odds high."

he's made part of his routine resting his head on your stomach every night before bed, with the excuse that he enjoys your fingers on his scalp

To his surprise, about 4 months in, he feels something

Like a little push, tiny and right against his face

"Oh, the baby kicked," you cooed

"Fascinating..."

Ever since then, he's kept his hand or face on you any time you sit down

When the gender reveal comes, you don't have anyone to celebrate with, besides Watari

You decide to do a cake reveal just between you and L

"What do you want? A boy, or a girl?"

"I want a baby."

Typical of him

You let him do the slicing, and at the first peek of blue, you were already screaming

"It's a boy! L, its a boy! We're having a baby boy!"

L knows you well enough to know either sex would have the exact same reaction

Despite his indifference, the reveal does solidify how real it all is

He would have a son

His son, baking inside of you, right now

It's jarring to think about

months later, 5 to be exact, L was rather nervous

"Do birth defects run in your family?"

"C-sections?"

"Have you been hydrating properly?"

You have to reassure him every time that things will be okay

It's best to distract him with questions of your own

"Do you think he'll have your eyes?"

"What should we name him?"

"I bet he'll be just as curious as you are."

The night your contractions start is the night he finally gets to put everything he learned to use

He and watari take you to the nearest hospital, go-bag and carseat already loaded, all while you pant and moan about the pain

Getting you settled in the hospital was the easiest part, luckily they had an available room

The hard part was watching someone he loved go through so much pain

The total time you spent in labor was 12 hours

L held your hand all the way through, even if he's sure you probably broke one of his fingers

"I read breathing slowly is helpful with-"

"SHUT UP, I'M PUSHING A GODDAMN WATERMELON OUT OF MY CUNT"

Needless to say, you didn't really care about facts while in active labor

When the baby finally escaped, L made sure he was handed to you as soon as possible, after all skin to skin contact is highly important for bonding

It was covered in blood and gunk and all other things, by any objective view it was utterly disgusting

But the moment it was cradled against your chest, all wrinkled and small and helpless...

He felt overwhelmed with more love than he's ever felt before

Pure, unending love

Somehow, there was a creature on this earth he loved more than you

When it was finally time for the baby to be taken for cleaning and check-up, he only sat beside you, still holding your hand, quietly waiting for his son to return

"L...we have a baby..."

"We do."

"How do you feel?"

"How do you feel?"

"...answer the damn question, I just gave birth."

"I'm worried for the future. But hopeful, as well."

When the baby finally returns, and he's offered the chance to hold him, he panics, just a little

What if he drops him?

He has to support the head

Remember to support the head

And the body as well

And don't hold him too tight

Or too loose

It isn't until he's actually in his arms that L can relax

Just a tiny thing, with a mess of black hair at the top of his coconut head

And when his son opens his big, black eyes?

L will do anything and everything for this child

For his son

[lunarsilkscreen]

On Wave Functions (and i-value shenanigans)

Consider a [some object]... How many [wave functions] can we define based on its [output] or it's [input] or even the work that it is currently performing based on the input in order to get a specific output.

The Galton board of the [output] measured a [set distance] away from some [fan or motor] based on how far we skew left or right (or even up or down) from the [original position] of that [fan or motor].

Techically you have 4. 1 based on each axis, which each can be defined as [in front of] or [behind that fan] which may be positive or negative depending on the measurement.

(measurement distance) = MeasurePos{x,y,z} - FanPos{x,y,z}

(output) = (mD) * (power or measured input)

Hey look, a couple of tensors! That's such an easier way to define a thing than in straight code... Wow, am I a mathematician yet?

Oh wow... I may have learned a whole school of maths outside the current educational knowledge because I learned it in programattical language and not the mathematical languages and literally cannot talk with anyone on them because of it.

So you'll notice the tensors have a functional (programmatic/algorthimic) output, where once you have the flat value (measurement distance) you can't get the original (space coordinates) back. All that's necessary are the two measurements which Pythagorean there on their way to some measurement from the source of energy output.

You may also notice that I seriously have to define everything I do so that Mathematicians and programmers alike can understand what the heck I'm saying ... Wild dude.

Anyway, you may notice a few other [wave functions] can be defined from this; how the output might be affected based on how the measurement of the output from the source is skewed ...

If we measure orthogonally, we may measure nothing, OR we may measure some fluctuations that don't mean anything from the perspective we're measuring it... Like a magnetic field from between the two poles for example.

If, for example... The measurement distance is askew, let's say ... mPos{x,y,z} + 5i

We're off by 5 in some orthogonal distance, that would affect the measured output TANGIBLY. Because of where we're measuring in relation to the fluid flow of the Fan itself.

And, you'll notice I've given a functional definition for a useful i-defined-value. So, we've created an *imaginary space* by anchoring out perspectives to two points, the Fan's position in relation to the position in which we take our measurement.

And because of this, we no longer need the actual physical position of the two measurements, just the two measurements as defined by their axis-to-each-other.

AND we can also make note of how much of the definition of output can be incorrect if our measurement is off, and the operation function for value of output based on that measurement may give us a bad measurement!

Oh wow ... I'm more excited that I've discovered how to explain these things in my head in English...adjacent verbage for once!

Especially because I've also called any currently defined usage of the buzzword [Wave Function] as requiring two minimally valid measurements to be defined for any [wave function] to not be arbitrary.

And I've just laid the path work for understanding a [maybe new, maybe old] functions that may include offsets which can skew measurements.

Actually. What is the minimal educational foundation *required* to fully understand this particular {journal entry/post}? Because I can't define it....

You need a bit of geometry and a bit of logic and a bit of programattical languageal foundation to understand it. Holy shit. I might be a genius. Or like a [reverse-genius] at least.

Help. Enmeshed in the Academia people... I need help defining this {all this thing here I'm trying to define} D:

[frozenbluecookies]

Kpop Demon Hunters is one of those movies that reminds me that a thing doesn't have to be an utterly original genius masterwork in order to be good.

I saw a couple posts before watching it that lauded it as groundbreaking, or a masterpiece, and that did set my expectations a little too high. It is not, in my opinion, groundbreaking or a masterpiece. But it is still a really enjoyable watch.

(Quick disclaimer: I'm no film critic, I'm just a rando on the internet sharing my thoughts)

(also, spoilers, in case you don't have the spoiler tags blocked but do want to avoid them)

Like. The plot (at least in the broad strokes) has been done before. "Team of people are secretly fighting against an ancient evil, the fight is going well until suddenly it's not, the antagonist/team of antagonists is causing trouble, but the thing that really breaks the protagonists is emotional turmoil within the team itself. There's a romance plotline in there somewhere. What should have been a big triumphant moment goes catastrophically wrong, the protagonists are hurt and separated from each other, but one of them has an epiphany and steps in at the last moment to rally their team and save the day with the Power of Friendship and Self-Love." None of that is new. Every aspect of that has been done a bajillion times, frequently in that exact combination.

Even the big themes (empathy, and coming to accept the parts of yourself that you had been taught to hate) are common enough. Particularly in media with a younger target audience.

Basically the only thing about the story that isn't super common (at least to a Western audience) are the aspects of Korean culture and mythology. I'm not qualified to speak on those, since I'm not Korean, but it is nice to see more diversity on that front in Western media. Those don't provide anything unique as far as the structure of the plot or themes, though.

And yet, despite the fact that the plot has been seen a million times, it doesn't drag the movie down at all. I wouldn't say it enhances anything, exactly, but it doesn't get in the way of the parts that do shine, and that's good enough for me.

Speaking of the parts that do shine, there are two main parts of the writing that stand out, at least to me. First of the two, I'm going to give the handling of the tone its flowers, because imo it deseves them. The blend of comedy and emotion was excellently executed, in my humble opinion. There was never a joke that made me cringe, or an emotional beat that felt over-dramatic. Beautiful work.

But I think the character writing, fittingly, is the star of the show: it's easy to love the characters, it's easy to get invested in them, and in their relationships with each other, and they're a delight to watch. There once again isn't too much that's unique there, but who really cares when watching it is this much fun, and this heartstring-tugging? Have I seen characters lament that their parent/mentor doesn't love every part of them before? Yes, dozens of times. Did Rumi's "why couldn't you love me?" moment make me tear up anyway? Absolutely.

The music is also a standout: can't have a good musical if the songs are bad. And every one of these songs is a certified bop. And they fit seamlessly into the rest of the story, imo, so no notes there. I was bopping along (or watching with a smile, in the case of Free) the whole way through, and they made the kpop fan in me very happy.

TLDR: This movie isn't super original, except in the finer details, but by god if it isn't a delightful watch anyway. Sure, if I were putting it in competition against the animated greats (the og How To Train Your Dragon, Into the Spiderverse, most of the Disney Renaissance, to name but a few), i don't think it's getting anywhere near the podium. But that doesn't stop it from being a solid, heart-filled, really enjoyable movie. Would watch again, many times over.